Improvement in reclining-chairs



E. COLLINS.

Reclining Chairs.

No.141,121 Patentedjurvyzmsvs.

NITED STATES PATENT EE'roE.

EDWARD COLLINS, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT IN RECLINING-CHAIRS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 141,121, dated July 22,1873; application filed June 6, 1873.

To all whom Iit may concern Be it known that I, EDWARD COLLINS, of NewYork, in the county and State of New York, have invented a new anduseful Improved Reclining-Chair; and lI do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, sufcient toenable those skilled in the art to which my invention appertains to makeand use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawing makingpart of this specificatiomand to the letters and gures marked thereon.

My invention relates to certain improvements in chairs, whereby the backand seat may be inclined at dierent angles, and the facing position ofthe chair may be changed 5 and it consists in, rst, pivoting the back ofthe chair to the seat thereof and connect-ing the back to the arms byrods, to which are pivoted bars, provided with notches or hooks forengagement with projections on the back, whereby the back may beinclined and held in position at different angles; second, pivoting therear legs to the seat and connecting them to the seat and arms byconnecting rods and levers engaging with notches in the arms, wherebythe seat may be inclined and held in position at diiferent angles;third, attaching the seat to a pedestal by means of a globejoint, soconstructed as to allow the chair to oscillate backward and forwardonly, andV provided with projections and depressions for holding thechair in position when facing in different directions.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure l represents a side -view of myimproved chair, partly in section. Fig. 2 is a central vertical sectionthrough the pedestal, globe-joint, and seat. Figs. 3 and 4 are views ofthe parts composing the globe-joint.

The chair may be constructed of any suitable material, and may beornamented and upholstered in any desired style.

The back B is pivoted to or near the rear side of the seat by anysuitable form of pivot or hinge joint. In the form shown in Fig. l theback is attached by means of pins, b, engaging with holes inenlargements or lugs, a, in the rear lower corners of the arms A. Theupper portion of the back is connected to the arms by rods or bars U,having their upper ends pivoted to the sides of the back B and theirlower ends pivoted to the arms A. About midway between the ends of eachbar C ispivoted a bar, D, having hooks or notches on its lower edge forengagement with projections on each side of the back. These projec tionsmay be simply pins or studs, d, as shown in Fig. l, or they may be inthe form of staples, so as to surround the bars D and prevent theirdisplacement. When the back is to be inclined the bars D are raiseduntil disengaged from the projections, allowing the back to recede thedesired distance, when they are released so as to again engage with theprojections and hold the back in the desired position. If founddesirable, in order to facilitate the manipulation of the bars D, theymay be formed with handles extending forward of the fulcrums, so as tobe easily accessible to the occupant of the chair. On the underside ofthe seat F, at or near the rear corners, are lugs f, to which arepivoted the upper ends of the legs Gr, on the lower ends of which arecaster-wheels g. To each leg G is pivoted one end of a connecting-rod,e, the other en d of which is pivoted to the short arm of a lever, K,which has its fulcrum forward of the center of the seat and its long armextending upwardgand engaging with notches, h, formed on the arms A. Thenotches may be concealedand the upper ends of the levers protected bymeans of straps, bars, or cushions,in any suitable manner. When the longarms of the levers K are moved forward the legs Gr are forced backward,and when the long arms of the levers are moved backward the legs G aredrawn forward by the action of the connecting-rods e. Instead of frontlegs for the chair the forward portion of the seat rests upon apedestal, J, and is attached thereto by a globe-joint, consisting of twobowls,L M, connected by a bolt,P. The pedestal may be made of anysuitable material. The bowls are made of cast metal, with lian ges forbolting them in place-the lower one to the pedestal,and the upper one tothe bottom of the seat. The upper bowl L has its centralperforation'elongated so as to form a slot, s, as shown in Fig. 3. 'Ihelower bowl M has its central perforation t corresponding with the formand size of the bolt P. This bolt a Mmes has a rounded head,corresponding with the concave portion of the bowl L, and may have ascrewthread out on its lower portion so as to be fastened by a nut. rEhebolt is passed through the slot s before the bowl L is secured to theseat. On the convex surface ofthe bowl L, near the flange, are two lugsor tongues, Z, diametrically opposite each other and in line with thedirection of the slot s. These tongues l engage with correspondingdepressions or grooves, m, in the concave surface ot' the bowl M, shownin Fig. 4. There may be any desired number of these grooves m, but thetwo shown are sufficient for illustration. When the parts are securedtogether in place the tongues Z and slot s lie in such a direction as toallow the chair to oscillate backward and forward only, an d not fromside to side, as in some chairs provided with globejoints. Then it isdesired to incline the seat the occupant grasps the levers and movesthem forward until the desired inclination is reached, when the leversare released and allowed to engage with the notches so as to hold thechair in such position. In restoring the seat to a horizontal positionthe levers are moved backward so as to draw the legs forward, as beforedescribed. There is sufficient play between the bowls L M to allow thechair to be raised so as to disengage the tongues lfrom the grooves m,but when the tongues are opposite the grooves the weight of the chair issuicient to keep them engaged. When it is desired 'to change the facingposition of the chair, or to entirelyT reverse such position, the chairis raised until the tongues are clear ot' the grooves and then rotatedon the pin or bolt P, asa center, until the tongues are opposite or overthe desired grooves, when it is released and its weight keeps it inposition. If desired, the notched or hooked bars may be pivoted to theback B and engage with projections on the bars C but I prefer to connectthem in the manner shown.

I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patentj 1. Thecombination of the seat F, arms A, back B, and rods C, provided With thenotched bars D for en gageinent with projections d 011 the back,substantially as and for the purpose shown and described.

2. The legs G pivoted to the seat, and connected to the seat and arms byrods e and levers K engaging with notches in the arms for` holding theseat in different positions, substantially as shown and described.

y. 3. A globe-joint for connecting the seatwith the pedestal, consistingof the bowls L M, formed with projections and depressions Z m, andsecured by a bolt, P, whereby the chair may oscillate backward andforward, and may be held in position when facing in differentdirections, substantially as shown and described. l

The above specification of my invention signed by nie this 27th day ofMay, 1873.

EDWARD COLLINS.

Vitnesses J ULIUs BECK, J. F. WILLIAMS.

